Maharashtra Board Class 5 EVS Part II Chapter 8 Beginning of Settled Life PDF Download

Beginning Of Settled Life

This chapter has five main parts:

8.1 Beginning of domestication of animals and agriculture

8.2 Special skills and various occupations

8.3 Community life based on mutual co-operation

8.4 Structure of houses

8.5 Village-settlement, kinship and family

Beginning Of Domestication Of Animals And Agriculture

Domestication of animals: Domesticated animals like the dog, goat, sheep, cattle, buffalo, etc, are useful to man in many ways. There are three main steps in the domestication of a species of any animal.

1. Capture of the wild animals.

2. Taming the captured animals; that is, training them to live with humans.

3. Obtaining useful materials like milk, etc. from them and training them to work for humans as beasts of burden.

When the third step is achieved, the animal is supposed to be completely domesticated. Domesticating animals and keeping them for our own use is called animal husbandry.

In the sixth lesson, we have seen that the dog was domesticated in the Middle Stone Age. The dog is the first animal to have been domesticated. Dogs were used to help with hunting. The goat and sheep were domesticated next.

Agriculture: Archaeological evidence is available to show that agriculture first began about 11,000 years ago in Israel and Iraq. Women are credited to have started cultivation. They might have used pointed sticks to sow seeds. Women in some tribes still sow seeds by this method. In order to help dig deeper into the soil, the stick was weighted using a perforated stone.

Teacher's Note

In India, we still see farmers using traditional tools to farm their land. Just like in ancient times, families work together in the fields during harvest season.

Exam Trick

Remember: Dog was the first animal domesticated. Three steps of domestication are: capture, taming, and training for work. Write these three steps in order in the exam.

Points to Remember

Domesticated animals like dogs, goats, sheep, and cattle are very useful to humans.
Animal husbandry means keeping animals for our own use.
Agriculture began about 11,000 years ago in Israel and Iraq.
Women started agriculture and sowing seeds.
Pointed sticks and perforated stones were used to sow seeds in the soil.

Special Skills And Various Occupations

In the times before agriculture, people obtained food such as meat, fruits and roots by hunting and gathering, but could not store it for a long time. Therefore, all the men and women in the community were continuously engaged in getting food. In the agricultural system, it became possible to store foodgrains for long periods. There was more food available than was needed by the community. Some women and men thus began to get spare time for experimentation and for using their natural creativity to develop special skills.

Members with such special skills were given work based on those skills. Thus arose crafts like making earthen pots, beads, etc. It is believed that in the New Stone Age women made earthen pots and other earthen objects by hand.

Teacher's Note

In your village or town, you may see potters making clay pots by hand, just like people did in the New Stone Age. This skill has been passed down through families for thousands of years.

Exam Trick

Remember: Extra food = extra time = new skills and crafts. When there was surplus food, people had free time to develop special skills like making pots and beads.

Points to Remember

Before agriculture, people could not store food for long time.
Agriculture allowed people to store foodgrains for many months.
Extra food gave people spare time to develop special skills.
Women and men made pots, beads, and other crafted objects.
People with special skills became the craftspeople of the community.

Community Life Based On Mutual Co-operation

The farmers in the village-settlement were now producing surplus food. They needed skilled craftsmen for tasks like making agricultural implements and repairing them. Such craftsmen were paid in the form of foodgrains or other articles. The craftsmen needed to obtain their raw material from long distances. The price of this raw material was also paid in the form of foodgrains, articles, etc. Thus the barter system of buying and selling was established. The barter system also began to be used when there was a need to obtain raw materials, finished objects, other articles of daily use, etc. from other places. Salt is an essential item. Most of the village-settlements needed to obtain it from faraway places. Salt traders also traded articles they received in exchange of salt. The salt trade helped the expansion of trade in the New Stone Age.

The village community made rules for mutual co-operation in order to keep this system of trade and distribution of resources running smoothly. People responsible for the implementation of these rules became the chiefs of village-settlements. The chiefs were also entrusted with the protection of the village. This is how the village administrative system came into being. Evidence of protective walls and moats ground the village-settlements of the New Stone Age has been found in excavations. These walls were built to protect the village-settlements from floods, wild animals and outsiders who stole the village cattle.

Teacher's Note

In modern India, village panchayats still make rules for the community and manage resources. Just like in ancient times, the leaders decide what is fair for everyone in the village.

Exam Trick

Remember: Surplus food led to trade. Trade needed rules. Rules needed leaders called chiefs. This is how villages got their first government system.

Points to Remember

Farmers produced extra food that was surplus.
Barter system started for buying and selling goods.
Salt was an important trade item in New Stone Age.
Village chiefs made rules for the community.
Protective walls and moats were built around villages for safety.

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